Sunday, October 19, 2008

Society1927. The Supreme Court rules that illegal income is taxable, thus giving the federal government a powerful new weapon against the underworld.

1927. April flood waters in the lower Mississippi Valley cover 4 million acres and cause $300 million in property loss.

1927. The mechanical cotton picker perfected by Texas inventor John Daniel Rust and his brother Mack will have a profound social impact on the South when marketing of the machine begins in 1949. The Rust Cotton Picker inserts a long spinning spindle with teeth into the cotton boll, winds up the cotton, picks it out, and is kept wet to facilitate removal of the cotton from the teeth. It picks a bale of cotton in one day, and it will spur migration of blacks to northern cities as it reduces the need for field hands.